The Withstander
by spygurl
Summary: So here I am, standing face to face, eye to eye with Medusa. I waited to get turned to stone but nothing happened. I withstand.
1. Chapter 1

Following him was the easy part; making no sounds proved more difficult. There were all types of bushes and trees with thorns protruding in my arms and legs. Balled up pieces of paper, scraps of metal, and weapon parts littered a section of the ground where campers tend to walk a lot to get to their various areas of training. The teenager I was tracking, however, effortlessly made his way through the grounds lacking audibility.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm Carter Keys, demi-god, new to Camp Half-Blood. With wavy chestnut-colored hair usually thrown into a sloppy bun and smoky green eyes, I'm the kind of girl who doesn't typically get noticed on a daily basis but that's going to change this year. After constantly moving from city to city and switching schools, experiencing the same mundane routine after 14 years gets a tad tiring, believe it or not. Here's a chance to make my mark in a place where I genuinely fit in, somewhere with promise. So here I am, trailing an unknown suspicious camper in the middle of the night, barely sneaking out of my cabin window. Not quite sure where he's headed or what his intentions are, but my curiosity prevails over my sense of forethought.

It appeared he was going towards the gate which separated the mortal world from the demi-god world. What was he doing? Was he actually going to step outside it? I attempted to straighten this tangled mess of questions into answers but that just seemed to complicate matters all the more.

When he was one step away from the opening, he hesitated, briefly glancing back in the left direction and before he could catch me following him, I crouched down behind a nearby tree. Waiting about five seconds, I peaked to make sure he wasn't looking and cautiously creeped towards the entrance. This is it; this is my chance. So why was I feeling so tentative and timid? _Come on, Carter, _I urged myself _this is an actual adventure! When else is an opportunity like this going to come your way?_

Making a split-second decision, I jumped through the gate, squeezing my eyes shut the whole way, even though I knew it really wasn't necessary. Peering through the trees, hoping I didn't lose him, I dashed through the forest with renewed energy. In the gates, I almost felt . . . restrained. Now without its presence, I feel vigorous, even more athletic.

I could just make out a shadow jogging as I strained to keep up, being as light on my feet as possible. This path slowly reached a highway outfitted with a cow pasture across from it and the city just north. He invigorated his pace as we hurriedly arrived to New York City.

I have to tell you, it was very grand, even for the outside of the city. Lights flooded the streets and I gazed in amazement as I pondered the thought of actually living here. Diminutive houses sided the road as they gradually became larger and more superior. Soon, we were what you would call 'in the ghetto,' where I assumed thieves, robbers, villains, and vandals prowled around just waiting to attack an innocent person and deprive them of their belongings. That thought wasn't exactly comforting as I envisioned intimidating eyes following my every move I made, plotting the exact moment where I'd be most defenseless and—whoa, I'm getting ahead of myself. It's probably not that grave.

I shook my head in an attempt to focus and be attentive; after all, it was a pretty vast and wild city and I could lose him without any trouble.

He was entering a rather strange . . . building? No, more like a brick archway to a dead end with vines swallowing almost every square inch. I leapt behind trash can to trash can, which was no picnic; let me tell you, with the pungent odor and surplus rotten food suspending from the overflowing lids; it was less than pleasant.

I couldn't conclude where his destination awaited, though, since it _was _a dead end. His brutal-looking hand reached up to pull a leafy, flourishing vine when what ruined the happening? Oh, that's right, me.

Endeavoring to perceive every element of his scheme by slightly leaning forward, it was just my luck to slip on a cluttered piece of debris and plummet to the sharp cement, a brusque pain spurting through my legs and perusing a course through my entire body.

Clearly alarm, he backed into the wall, apparently astounded as realization dawned over him that he had been tracked. But regaining his normal attitude, much to my distaste, the encounter appeared to have only slightly aggravate him.

"Who are you?" he inquired annoyance, irritation, and just a bit of curiosity dripping from his voice. Observing his facial features, I finally understood who he was. Luke Castellan, leader of the Hermes cabin and reasonably respected stood before me, his eyes an intense blue that had an amusing tint to them at the moment. As if he thought he could take me.

"Why would I tell you?" I retorted back. _He's a traitor, _a voice verbalized in my head. _He's helping Kronos and will destroy everything in its path, stopping at nothing. _The voice in my head is Athena, my mother, goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. She's really not supposed to give me answers and knowledge of this sort of stuff, but it's extremely useful. I always thought it was me, unconsciously rambling junk to myself, but what hasn't changed since I got to camp? Slowly, I reached for my dagger at my side. I didn't need a sixth sense or expertise from my mother to discern that Luke Castellan was definitely _not _on my side.

"Because hero," he responded with ease, a fire dancing in his eyes and a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, "if you don't, I'm going to kill you."

Ooh, a challenge; this should be good, I thought as a hunger developed inside of me to show this guy who's boss. Swiftly bringing the dagger out in full view, I casually stated, "Bring it on."


	2. Chapter 2

So, where was I? Oh, yeah, challenging Luke Castellan, master of all things having to do with battle skills and combat fighting, known for his expertise and never losing a fight. And I was known for making rather excellent tacos, but quite frankly, I didn't think that skill was going to help me at the current moment. It was only then that I comprehended how utterly ludicrous this was. But hey, take a new chance every day, right?

Giving me one last sneering look, he assailed with the first strike handling a jagged blade, aiming for my head. Providentially, my astute intuition kicked in as I ducked, avoiding the blow just narrowly. Still backing up, he attacked continually, this time a more powerful force that took me by surprise. I really don't have much experience with fighting, but there was a slim crevice of hope that was embedded in this unfeasible-seeming mission.

This time, his raid was directed near my unprotected legs which, on instinct, readied my legs to spring upwards. That crack of faith that I possibly might not die developed into a wider, broader area, extending so that I grew haughty and a little over-confident, a smug smile slowly expanding on my face. A rookie's mistake when it comes to battle.

Shocking me, once again, his serrated knife glided through my skin on my cheek, revealing a small scar, close to my nose. A jolt of pain splurged through my body as I yelped in agony, blood trickling down my face. Though the slice was shallow, Luke wounded me without mercy.

I stumbled to the ground, my hand tenderly feeling my fragile cheek to confirm it wasn't as appalling as I assumed it was as my head throbbed excruciatingly. Then, glancing up at him, he commenced to chuckle, reticent at first, then gradually cultivating into a more gregarious guffaw.

Glowering at him through clenched teeth and vaguely blurred vision, I chose right then and there, that I was not going down.

"Care to surrender?" he asked, his tone leaking with such poise and cockiness that you'd think he'd just won Capture the Flag. I tingled with antipathy, infuriated with this new rival.

"Don't make me go all Madea on you!" I lamely retorted back. I am absolutely abysmal with spur of the moment witty type things to say, like in the movies. But you know what they say; if you can't convince them, confuse them.

Luke gave me a perplexed look, which gave me just enough time to clobber him in the mouth with my compressed fist. Staggering back for a second, he finally took in how fierce I was capable of being. He underestimated me, a _professional's _mistake.

Recuperating, he wiped his slightly bloody mouth with his sleeve while I recommenced with my attacking streak, performing a double front-snap kick right in the center of his chest-a skill Annabeth had advised would be expedient someday, proving to be just that. I desired to boast right then and there but disallowed that motion, considering what occurred the previous time a few minutes ago.

A look of resentment burned into me as he glared at me and raised his knife afresh but I was ready. By examining his fighting patterns and eye contact and body gestures, I analyzed and predicted the precise moment he would attempt to slash me near my left arm. Swiftly sidestepping this movement, I advanced and cornered him between the brick vine-entrenched wall. Apprehensively glancing around, he realized his options were limited.

And of course, luck bartered sides yet again. Out of nowhere, a black hole of some sort appeared into the concrete-rigid faded bricks that seemed to swallow everything in the vicinity.

Right before he was engulfed into the hole, I was positive he muttered, "Thank Medusa," which was odd, since most people would say "Thank God" or something like that. The only 'Medusa' I knew was the Greek mythological one. Well, I suppose she isn't fabled, since none of the other Greek gods, goddesses, monsters, cyclops, etc., are real. I erudited from Annabeth, Percy, and Grover's legendary quest that they vanquished her with one slice, and her head just rolled off. Pretty gruesome, yes, but that incident was spread throughout the camp. It's so prevalent; I'm surprised it's not told at the campfires.

_Flashback_

Anyway, a couple weeks ago, the information of a new prophecy buzzed around camp going something like this:

_Fear her now_

_Hath she untwine_

_To dominate, she must prow_

_From the inside out_

_One whom betray_

_Three who might save_

_The fate only conceal_

_What instincts will pay_

Chiron and most baffled campers believe this is referring to the work of some recent awakening creature, maybe even another descendant of Kronos. Rachael, the Oracle, unfortunately, cannot obtain any other information from the spirit world so all we have left to do is guess at this mystifying divination.

I honestly do not know what to think. Maybe this _is_ a new nemesis, but last time, everyone thought in only one perspective, too stubborn to look at the outskirts of the problem. I'm no detective; I don't even know where to begin, but if the correct solution would be to view things at a newfangled angle, then I'm going to need some help. Problem? I just don't know where to find any.

_Back to present time_

With Luke escaping, I probably made the craziest decision in my life, but how can I tell after all the extreme and insane action going on so far?

Though I couldn't really tell if the random black hole sucked me in or if I dived in bravery determined to not allow him to flee, escaping, I'm going to go with the second one.

Then, without admonition, I was flung into a whole other dimension of shattering darkness and isolation. Stupid black hole.

**Please review-they mean a lot to me! **


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